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TRIP DEADLINES APPROACHING:
March 1st and 15th


Volunteer Carol and Crew
BE THE CHANGE  on an upcoming Xela AID service trip to Guatemala

2014 Trip Schedule* 
Dignified Housing
June 13-22
(late-night departure)   
Deadline: March 1st, 2014
"Dignified Housing & Other Projects TBD with Intensive Spanish Study Option." Includes Attitlan, Antigua and Tikal option. (see story at right to reserve)

 

Literacy Project
August 1-10/13
(late-night departure)
Deadline: March 15th, 2014
"Literacy, Art Therapy, & Special Projects at Las Nubes." Contact
*A 12-person minimum applies to all trips which otherwise may be canceled or combined. Thank you for your understanding.

Remember to LIKE Xela AID on Facebook so you'll get updates from our travels in Guatemala and other messages from the field! If you haven't already, it's easy. Do it NOW!
 
 LIVE.LEARN.THRIVE!
   
Summer Service Trip "A Home for Julia"
Deadline: MARCH 1st, 2014

June 13-22, 2014
Orientation: Saturday, March 29, 2014 1pm-4pm in Huntington Beach
Deadline: March 1st, 2014
This volunteer trip will focus on the construction of a home for a family in exceptional need, further development of Xela AID's weaving cooperative and includes various cultural experiences. It will also include R&R and mentoring at Lago de Atitlan, Antigua and Tikal option. 

Interested in learning more about this trip? Click here for a detailed description.

APPLICATION LINK - For your convenience, we have included a link to the application here. You will send this completed application with your deposit and a color copy of your passport to Xela AID: 111 W. Ocean Blvd, 4th Floor, Long Beach, CA 90802.

If you wish to confirm your spot, please do so immediately as follows: 1) Click here and pay by credit card the $500 deposit.* Donate through the Copper Circle option and please specify that it is a trip deposit. 2) Send an e-mail to: amy@xelaaid.org to reserve your spot. We hope you will be traveling with us this summer!
 
 
WSS Graduate will be Bank Teller
Marco Aurelio de León never had a chance to finish grade school. He needed to work to help his family. That's not easy in Guatemala, where unemployment tops 75%. Determined, Marco followed up on every lead and finally landed a job as a janitor at a local bank. 
 
In his 20's, Marco married and eventually, had five children, then in his 30's, he decided he wanted to enrich his life, and maybe do another kind of work one day. He was determined to graduate from high school, and approached Xela AID for help. Xela AID secured sponsors for this unusual case, and his hard work began.

In 2013, Marco proudly graduated from high school! And this month, more wonderful news: Marco applied for a new post, which the bank he has worked for as a janitor for nearly 20 years has just approved. Marco's new post: BANK TELLER, for which he is now training in Guatemala City.

Xela AID salutes Marco for his hard work, and we give special thanks to our Work Study Scholarship Program sponsors who made this possible: Pine Manor (Gail Warner). Without the support of our sponsors, success stories like Marco's would not be possible.

YOU CAN HELP - We currently have more than a dozen young people on our waiting list, hoping that they, too, may be able to go to school. For less than the cost of a latte a day, you too can help a child's dream of an education come true! Browse our waiting list of children here, then write to Amy at amy@xelaaid.org. 

Thank You New Sponsors! 
Kathy Nicolson (pictured) and family sponsored Sofia Everilda Gomez Perez after returning from a volunteer trip last summer. Here she is shown with a prize grown in San Martín: HUGE carrots!
Sofia Everilda Gomez Perez is sponsored in Xela AID's Work Study Scholarship (WSS) Program through the generosity of Kathy, David, Maddy, and Duke Nicolson. As a monthly recipient of funds, Sofia gives back by tutoring younger children in the WSS program. She has also made herself invaluable in Xela AID's computer labs, where she has just been hired in a sorely-needed position sponsored by Milton and Helen Dinkel. The extra income will help Sofia who because of her heavy class load has needed more materials than the average student.

Elena de la Cruz has sponsored Edgar Ivan Hanstein Lopez! Edgar is part of a family of five, with just a mother to support them. Edgar has always had a passion for music and hopes to one day become a musician in a marching band. He also hopes to become an accountant! 

Thank you to our new sponsors! 
 
Warmly,
Leslie Baer Dinkel Signature
Leslie Baer Dinkel
Executive Director

 

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."

--Mother Teresa

*A 3% surcharge will be added to all credit card payments.
Thank you... for your ongoing interest and support!
Children at Xela AID's San Martín Tots Preschool